Persuasive Essay Rough Draft PDF

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Persuasive essay on the best treatment for child and adolescent anxiety disorders. Includes an introduction, 5 body paragraphs including a counterargument and a rebuttal, and a conclusion....

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Kim Strankman English 123 Persuasive Essay Rough Draft According to the CDC, about 44 million children aged 3-17 years have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. “When children do not outgrow the fears and worries that are typical in young children, or when there are so many fears and worries that they interfere with school, home, or play activities, the child may be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.” There are a variety of treatment options to choose from to combat child anxiety disorders, but the best treatment is a combination of therapy and medication. A combination of therapy and medication is better than not treating it, or with therapy or medication alone. Getting treatment for child anxiety is quintessential to help them not develop worsening symptoms. A 2016 analysis of child mental health showed that nearly 7.7 million children with at least 1 treatable disorder did not receive treatment for it. “Undiagnosed and untreated anxiety can interfere with normal psychological development and cause a significant burden on an individual’s quality of life and well-being,” says Iliana Garcia in an article on adolescent anxiety. “Untreated anxiety can have detrimental consequences later in life.” Also, according to a book on CBT, “Children with mental disorders are at a much greater risk for dropping out of school and of not being fully functional members of society in adulthood.” This clearly shows that children who don’t get treatment are at risk for worsening symptoms, so getting treatment is quintessential for the well – being of a child. The most common treatment for these anxiety disorders is Cognitive Behavior Therapy, or CBT.

Cognitive behavior therapy is a treatment for multiple anxiety disorders in children and adults alike. The CDC says that “it helps the child change negative thoughts into more positive, effective ways of thinking, leading to more effective behavior. Behavior therapy for anxiety may involve helping children cope with and manage anxiety symptoms while gradually exposing them to their fears to help them learn that bad things do not occur.” “Cognitive behavior programs comprise several strategies aimed to help children notice and analyze their thoughts, emotional reactions, and behaviors. Children are challenged to implement these strategies to change problematic behavior and thinking patterns” (Sheldon, 2011). This overtime should give children coping skills to help manage their symptoms. However, CBT is not for everyone, and sometimes it isn’t enough to fully treat anxiety, so doctors tend to prescribe SSRIs in addition to CBT to increase the effectiveness of treatment. A selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, or SSRI, is a type of drug that is most used to combat depression and anxiety, especially in cases where the patient is not improving with just psychotherapy like CBT. According to Catherine Pittman from St. Mary’s College, “SSRIs help increase the brain’s ability to restructure itself, allowing for change. This helps promote anxietyreducing changes in your brain.” She also states that this doesn’t mean that anxiety will reduce on its own, the medication just helps make changes easier. Also, in a 2011 study, a combined treatment of CBT and Sertraline, an SSRI, was more effective in children than Sertraline alone, with 46% to 68% remission of symptoms vs 34% - 46%. We can conclude that going on an SSRI could help make cognitive behavioral therapy more effective, and that combination could be the most effective treatment for anxiety in children and adolescents.

Despite the growing evidence that CBT and SSRIs are very effective in the treatment of child and adolescent anxiety, there are some who are not on board with these forms of treatment. Many parents and adolescents will seek alternative treatments such as complementary medicine, exercise, meditation, diet, and lifestyle modification. Furthermore, there is some evidence that mindfulness and other forms of meditation, music, relaxation techniques, and melatonin may be efficacious for anxiety, especially anxiety associated with medical procedures or chronic medical problems. However, there is not enough evidence on complementary health approaches for anxiety to draw definitive conclusions about their efficacy. There have been multiple studies that have shown promise, but the data collected was inconclusive or biased, and multiple studies stated at the end that there needed to be more, further research done on these alternative treatments to truly claim the efficacy of these approaches. (Going to put in specifics later) In conclusion, while there are many ways to treat anxiety in children and adolescents, the best treatment course is a combination of CBT and SSRIs. Diagnosing and treating anxiety in children and adolescents is essential to their wellbeing. Children are our future, and they will be taking over this world when we leave it. They will need to be at their very best, which means that those who struggle with anxiety and depression need to get the very best treatment so that they can thrive and survive. The best way to do that is through CBT and SSRIs....